Puzzle time!

Use somebody, everybody, nobody, anybody, body and gym-body in a single sentence. (Apart from this one!)

The New Beginning

Just a few hours ago, I realized that today is the 19th of June.. Its the day of a new beginning!
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For one, I am in the second phase of my blogging life cycle.. Hope it is a li'l better than the first ;)
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I was updating my computer with some device drivers.. cos my mouse was being a jumping jack... jumping all over the screen for no rhyme or reason..
And then I had to create a system restore point..

Guess I dont need explain what that is.. if you can read this, you shall be knowing some bit about computers and the hardware... Anyways, it a way to make an iventory of everything (important device specifications/settings/registry/keys) as is, before you undertake to modify some of them. And then, if things dont work and you want to restore to the old ways, you can.

How nice would it be if one do the same with our brain?!? Create brain restore points before we embark on a relationship.. and if that relationship does not work, one can just go back to the brain state as before.

Thats kinda the idea behind "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Amazing movie.. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in a totally different light.. serious and thought-provoking in a way that you would not realize the change! **MUST WATCH**
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Tere dil mein meri saanson ko panah mil jaaye,
Tere ishq mein meri jaan fanaa ho jaaye

yeah.. I saw 'Fanaa'. First half was good, second half barely watchable..
But then, any day, one can watch it for Aamir and Kajol..
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Love is grossly over-rated
But then, I am madly in love
...I am madly in love
with the process of falling in love!!

(wah wah! wah wah!!) ;)
Bhaskar

Live from Chennai..

Hey there!

This is Joey Tribbiani reporting from Chennai. The weather is hot man. (And you know there are only 2 of them here.. hot and hotter [I need to get that off my head first fast, ok now I am off it :) ] And some of the babes.. hotter!

The place looks the same (vs. 3 yrs ago) just that it looks much more crowded.. lots and lots of apartments.. roads are congested as usual.. I wouldnt get a chance to check the beach-sides as I am here for just a day and that too to attend a schoolmate's wedding.

The people dont seem to have changed much either.. may be just a bit more techno-savvy and some a bit more greenback-savvy. Yeh, there seem to be some more influx of northies and westerns, but da people.. da conservative tam-brams.. just the same :)

Anyways its nice to be back here..

so long!
Joey

Kya Life Hai..

Anna Nicole Smith: 'Yes, I Am Pregnant'
Jun 1, 11:13 AM EST

The Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Anna Nicole Smith has confirmed that she's pregnant, in a video clip posted on her Web site.

"Let me stop all the rumors. Yes, I am pregnant. I'm happy, I'm very very happy about it. Everything's goin' really, really good and I'll be checking in and out periodically on the Web and I'll let you see me as I'm growing," the 38-year-old former reality TV star and Playboy playmate says.

Smith, who is floating on an inflatable raft in a swimming pool as a small white dog barks in the background, did not provide any details.

Her lawyer and spokesman, Howard K. Stern, could not be reached by The Associated Press on Thursday for comment.

Early last month, there were reports that Smith was expecting a baby. Stern issued a written statement saying, "If Anna Nicole is pregnant, she obviously doesn't want anybody to know yet.

"If she's not pregnant, she's not denying the rumor because she thinks it's funny how much of a stir it's causing. She'll leave it up to you to guess which one it is."

Smith has a 20-year-old son, Daniel, from her first marriage.

She married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994, when she was 26 and he was 89. He died the following year. Since then, she has feuded with Marshall's son, Pierce Marshall, over her entitlement to the tycoon's estate.

Smith won a judgment from the Supreme Court last month that allows her to continue to seek part of Marshall's fortune.

A Senile Joker Called Arjun Singh...

Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to the Devil's Advocate. As the debate over the reservations for the OBCs divides the country, we ask - What are the government's real intentions? That is the critical questions that I shall put today in an exclusive interview to the Minister for Human Resource Development Arjun Singh.

Most of the people would accept that steps are necessary to help the OBCs gain greater access to higher education. The real question is - Why do you believe that reservations is the best way of doing this?

Arjun Singh: I wouldn't like to say much more on this because these are decisions that are taken not by individuals alone. And in this case, the entire Parliament of this country - almost with rare anonymity - has decided to take this decision.

Karan Thapar: Except that Parliament is not infallible. In the Emergency, when it amended the Constitution, it was clearly wrong, it had to reverse its own amendments. So, the question arises - Why does Parliament believe that the reservation is the right way of helping the OBCs?

Arjun Singh: Nobody is infallible. But Parliament is Supreme and atleast I, as a Member of Parliament, cannot but accept the supremacy of Parliament.

Karan Thapar: No doubt Parliament is supreme, but the constitutional amendment that gives you your authorities actually unenabling amendment, it is not a compulsory requirement.
Secondly, the language of the amendment does not talk about reservations, the
language talks about any provision by law for advancement of socially and
educationally backward classes. So, you could have chosen anything other than reservations, why reservations?

Arjun Singh: Because as I said, that was the 'will and desire of the Parliament'.

Karan Thapar: Do you personally also, as Minister of Human Resource Development , believe that reservations is the right and proper way to help the OBCs?

Arjun Singh: Certainly, that is one of the most important ways to do it.

Karan Thapar: The right way?

Arjun Singh: Also the right way.

Karan Thapar: In which case, lets ask a few basic questions; we are talking about the reservations for the OBCs in particular. Do you know what percentage of the Indian population is OBC?
Mandal puts it at 52 per cent, the National Sample Survey Organisation at 32 per cent, the National Family and Health Survey at 29.8 per cent, which is the
correct figure?

Arjun Singh: I think that should be decided by people who are more knowledgeable. But the point is that the OBCs form a fairly sizeable percentage of our population.

Karan Thapar: No doubt, but the reason why it is important to know 'what percentage' they form is that if you are going to have reservations for them, then you must know what percentage of the population they are, otherwise you don't know whether
they are already adequately catered in higher educational institutions or not.

Arjun Singh: That is obvious - they are not.

Karan Thapar: Why is it obvious?

Arjun Singh: Obvious because it is something which we all see.

Karan Thapar: Except for the fact that the NSSO, which is a government appointed body, has actually in its research in 1999 - which is the most latest research shown - that 23.5 per cent of all university seats are already with the OBCs. And that is just 8.5 per cent less than what the NSSO believes is the OBC share of the
population. So, for a difference of 8 per cent, would reservations be the right way of making up the difference?

Arjun Singh: I wouldn't like to go behind all this because, as I said, Parliament has taken a view and it has taken a decision, I am a servant of Parliament and I will only implement.

Karan Thapar: Absolutely, Parliament has taken a view, I grant it. But what people question is the simple fact - Is there a need for reservations? If you don't know what percentage of the country is OBC, and if furthermore, the NSSO is correct in pointing out that already 23.5 per cent of the college seats are with the OBC,
then you don't have a case in terms of need.

Arjun Singh: College seats, I don't know.

Karan Thapar: According to the NSSO - which is a government appointed body - 23.5 per cent of the college seats are already with the OBCs.

Arjun Singh: What do you mean by college seats?

Karan Thapar: University seats, seats of higher education.

Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know I have not come across that far.

Karan Thapar: So, when critics say to you that you don't have a case for reservation in terms of need, what do you say to them?

Arjun Singh: I have said what I had to say and the point is that that is not an issue for us to now debate.

Karan Thapar: You mean the chapter is now closed?

Arjun Singh: The decision has been taken.

Karan Thapar: Regardless of whether there is a need or not, the decision is taken and it is a closed chapter.

Arjun Singh: So far as I can see, it is a closed chapter and that is why I have to implement what all Parliament has said.

Karan Thapar: Minister, it is not just in terms of 'need' that your critics question the decision to have reservation for OBCs in higher education. More importantly, they question whether reservations themselves are efficacious and can work.

For example, a study done by the IITs themselves shows that 50 per cent of the IIT seats for the SCs and STs remain vacant and for the remaining 50 per cent, 25 per cent are the candidates, who even after six years fail to get their degrees. So, clearly, in their case, reservations are not working.

Arjun Singh: I would only say that on this issue, it would not be correct to go by all these figures that have been paraded.

Karan Thapar: You mean the IIT figures themselves could be dubious?

Arjun Singh: Not dubious, but I think that is not the last word.

Karan Thapar: All right, maybe the IIT may not be the last word, let me then quote to you the report of the Parliamentary Committee on the welfare for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes - that is a Parliamentary body.

It says that looking at the Delhi University, between 1995 and 2000, just half the seats for under-graduates at the Scheduled Castes level and just one-third of the seats for under-graduates at the Scheduled Tribes level were filled. All the others went empty, unfilled. So, again, even in Delhi University, reservations are not
working.

Arjun Singh: If they are not working, it does not mean that for that reason we don't need them. There must be some other reason why they are not working and that can be certainly probed and examined. But to say that for this reason, 'no reservations need to be done' is not correct.

Karan Thapar: Fifty years after the reservations were made, statistics show, according to The Hindustan Times, that overall in India, only 16 per cent of the places in higher education are occupied by SCs and STs. The quota is 22.5 per cent, which means that only two-thirds of the quota is occupied. One third is going waste, it is being denied to other people.

Arjun Singh: As I said, the kind of figures that have been brought out, in my perception, do not reflect the realities. Realities are something much more and of course, there is an element of prejudice also.

Karan Thapar: But these are figures that come from a Parliamentary Committee. It can't be prejudiced; they are your own colleagues.

Arjun Singh: Parliamentary Committee has given the figures, but as to why this has not happened, that is a different matter.

Karan Thapar: I put it to you that you don't have a case for reservations in terms of need, you don't have a case for reservations in terms of their efficacy, why then, are you insisting on extending them to the OBCs?

Arjun Singh: I don't want to use that word, but I think that your argument is basically fallicious.

Karan Thapar: But it is based on all the facts available in the public domain.

Arjun Singh: Those are facts that need to be gone into with more care. What lies behind those facts, why this has not happened, that is also a fact.

Karan Thapar: Let's approach the issue of reservations differently in that case. Reservations mean that a lesser-qualified candidate gets preference over a more qualified candidate, solely because in this case, he or she happens to be an OBC. In other words, the upper castes are being penalised for being upper caste.

Arjun Singh: Nobody is being penalised and that is a factor that we are trying to address. I think that the prime Minister will be talking to all the political parties and will be putting forward a formula, which will see that nobody is being penalised.

Karan Thapar: I want very much to talk about that formula, but before we come to talk about how you are going to address concerns, let me point one other corollary - Reservations also gives preference and favour to caste over merit. Is that acceptable in a modern society?

Arjun Singh: I don't think the perceptions of modern society fit India entirely.

Karan Thapar: You mean India is not a modern society and therefore can't claim to be treated as one?

Arjun Singh: It is emerging as a modern society, but the parameters of a modern society do not apply to large sections of the people in this country.

Karan Thapar: Let me quote to you Jawaharlal Nehru, a man whom you personally admire enormously. On the 27th of June 1961 wrote to the Chief Ministers of the day as follows: I dislike any kind of reservations. If we go in for any kind of reservations
on communal and caste basis, we will swamp the bright and able people and remain
second rate or third rate. The moment we encourage the second rate, we are lost. And then he adds pointedly: This way lies not only folly, but also disaster. What do you say to Jawaharlal Nehru today?

Arjun Singh: Jawaharlal Nehru was a great man in his own right and not only me, but everyone in India accept his view.

Karan Thapar: But you are just about to ignore his advice.

Arjun Singh: No. Are you aware that it was Jawaharlal Nehru who introduced the first ammendment regarding OBCs?

Karan Thapar: Yes, and I am talking about Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961, when clearly he had changed his position, he said - I dislike any kind of reservations.

Arjun Singh: I don't think one could take Panditji's position at any point of time and then overlook what he had himself initiated.

Karan Thapar: Am I then to understand that regardless of the case that is made against reservations in terms of need, regardless of the case that has been made against reservations in terms of efficacy, regardless of the case that has been made against reservations in terms of Jawaharlal Nehru, you remain committed to extending
reservations to the OBCs.

Arjun Singh: I said because that is the will of Parliament. And I think that common decisions that are taken by Parliament have to be honoured.

Karan Thapar: Let me ask you a few basic questions - If reservations are going to happen for the OBCs in higher education, what percentage of reservations are we talking about?

Arjun Singh: No, that I can't say because that has yet to be decided.

Karan Thapar: Could it be less than 27 per cent?

Arjun Singh: I can't say anything on that, I have told you in the very beginning that at this point of time it is not possible for me to.

Karan Thapar: Quite right. If you can't say, then that also means that the figure has not been decided.

Arjun Singh: The figure will be decided, it has not been decided yet.

Karan Thapar: The figure has not been decided. So, therefore the figure could be 27, but it could be less than 27 too?

Arjun Singh: I don't want to speculate on that because as I said, that is decision, which will be taken by Parliament.

Karan Thapar: Whatever the figure, one thing is certain that when the reservations for OBCs happen, the total quantum of reservations will go up in percentage terms. Will you compensate by increasing the total number of seats in colleges, universities, IITs and IIMs, so that the other students don't feel deprived.

Arjun Singh: That is one of the suggestions that has been made and is being seriously considered.

Karan Thapar: Does it find favour with you as a Minister for Human Resource Development?

Arjun Singh: Whatever suggestion comes, we are committed to examine it.

Karan Thapar: You may be committed to examine it, but do you as minister believe that that is the right way forward?

Arjun Singh: That could be one of the ways, but not the only way.

Karan Thapar: What are the other ways?

Arjun Singh: I don't know. That is for the Prime Minister and the other ministers to decide.

Karan Thapar: One way forward would be to increase the total number of seats.

Arjun Singh: Yes, definitely.

Karan Thapar: But the problem is that as the Times of India points out, we are talking of an increase of perhaps as much as 53 per cent. Given the constraints you have in terms of faculty and infrastructure, won't that order of increase dilute the quality of education?

Arjun Singh: I would only make one humble request, don't go by The Times of India and The Hindustan Times about faculty and infrastructure, because they are trying to focus on an argument which they have made.

Karan Thapar: All right, I will not go by The Times of India, let me instead go by Sukhdev Thorat, the Chairman of the UGC. He points out that today, at higher education levels - that is all universities, IITs and IIMs - there is already a 1.2 lakh vacancy number. 40 per cent of these are in teaching staff, which the IIT
faculty themselves point out that they have shortages of up to 30 per cent. Given those two constraint, can you increase the number of seats?

Arjun Singh: That can be addressed and that shortage can be taken care of.

Karan Thapar: But it can't be taken care of in one swoop, it will take several years to do it.

Arjun Singh: I don't know whether it can be taken care of straightway or in stages, that is a subject to be decided.

Karan Thapar: Let me ask you bluntly, if you were to agree to compensate for reservations for OBCs by increasing the number of seats, would that increase happen at one go, or would it be staggered over a period of two-three or four year old process.

Arjun Singh: As I told you, it is an issue that I cannot comment upon at this moment because that is under examination.

Karan Thapar: So, it may happen in one go and it may happen in a series of several years.

Arjun Singh: I can't speculate on that because that is not something on which I am free to speak on today.

Karan Thapar: Will the reservation for OBCs, whatever figure your Committee decides on, will it happen in one go, or will it slowly be introduced in stages?

Arjun Singh: That also I cannot say because as I told you, all these issues are under consideration.

Karan Thapar: Which means that everything that is of germane interest to the people concerned is at the moment 'under consideration' and the government is not able to give any satisfaction to the students who are deeply concerned.

Arjun Singh: That is not the point. The government knows what to do and it will do what is needed.

Karan Thapar: But if the government knows what to do, why won't you tell me what the government wants to do?

Arjun Singh: Because unless the decision is taken, I cannot tell you.

Karan Thapar: But you can share with me as the Minister what you are thinking.

Arjun Singh: No.

Karan Thapar: So, in other words, we are manitaining a veil of secrecy and the very people who are concerned...

Arjun Singh: I am not maintaining a veil of secrecy. I am only telling you what propriety allows me to tell you.

Karan Thapar: Propriety does not allow you to share with the people who are protesting on the streets what you are thinking?

Arjun Singh: I don't think that that can happen all the time.

Karan Thapar: But there are people who feel that their lives and their futures are at stake and they are undertaking fasts until death.

Arjun Singh: It is being hyped up, I don't want to go into that.

Karan Thapar: Do you have no sympathy for them?

Arjun Singh: I have every sympathy.

Karan Thapar: But you say it is being hyped up.

Arjun Singh: Yes, it is hyped up.

Karan Thapar: So, then, what sympathy are you showing?

Arjun Singh: I am showing sympathy to them and not to those who are hyping it up.

Karan Thapar: The CPM says that if the reservations for the OBCs are to happen, then what is called the creamy layer should be excluded. How do you react to that?

Arjun Singh: The creamy layer issue has already been taken care of by the Supreme Court.

Karan Thapar: That was vis -a-vis jobs in employment, what about at the university level, should they be excluded there as well because you are suggesting that the answer is yes?

Arjun Singh: That could be possible.

Karan Thapar: It could be possible that the creamy layer is excluded from reservations for OBCs in higher education?

Arjun Singh: It could be, but I don't know whether it would happen actually.

Karan Thapar: Many people say that if reservations for OBCs in higher education happen, then the children of beneficiaries should not be entitled to claim the same benefit.

Arjun Singh: Why?

Karan Thapar: So that there is always a shrinking base and the rate doesn't proliferate.

Arjun Singh: I don't think that that is a very logical way of looking at it.

Karan Thapar: Is that not acceptable to you?

Arjun Singh: No, it is not the logical way of looking at it.

Karan Thapar: So, with the possible exception of the creamy layer exclusion, reservation for OBCs in higher education will be almost identical to the existing reservations for SC/STs?

Arjun Singh: Except for the percentage.

Karan Thapar: Except for the percentage.

Arjun Singh: Yes.

Karan Thapar: So, in every other way, they will be
identical.

Arjun Singh: Yes, in every other way.

Karan Thapar: Mr Arjun Singh, on the 5th of April when you first indicated that the Government was considering reservation for OBCs in higher education, was the Prime Minister in agreement that this was the right thing to do?

Arjun Singh: I think, there is a very motivated propaganda is on this issue. Providing reservation to OBCs was in the public domain right from December 2005, when Parliament passed the enabling resolution.

Karan Thapar: Quite true. But had the Prime Minister specifically agreed on or before 5th of April to the idea?

Arjun Singh: Well, I am telling you it was already there. A whole Act was made, the Constitution was amended and the Prime Minister was fully aware of what this is going to mean. Actually, he had a meeting in which OBC leaders were called to convince them that this would give them the desired advantage. And they should,
therefore, support this resolution. And at that meeting, he himself talked to them. Now, how do you say that he was unaware?

Karan Thapar: But were you at all aware that the Prime Minister might be in agreement with what was about to happen but might not wish it disclosed publicly at that point of time? Were you aware of that?

Arjun Singh: It was already there in public domain, that's what I am trying to tell you.

Karan Thapar: Then answer this to me. Why are members of the PMO telling journalists that Prime Minister was not consulted and that you jumped the gun?

Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know which member of the PMO you are talking about unless you name him.

Karan Thapar: Is there a conspiracy to make you the fall guy?

Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know whether there is one or there is not. But fall guys are not made in this way. And I am only doing what was manifestly clear to every one, was cleared by the party and the Prime Minister. There is no question of any personal agenda.

Karan Thapar: They say that, in fact, you brought up this issue to embarrass the Prime Minister.

Arjun Singh: Why should I embarrass the Prime Minister? I am with him. I am part of his team.

Karan Thapar: They say that you have a lingering, forgive the word, jealousy because Sonia Gandhi chose Manmohan Singh and not you as Prime Minister.

Arjun Singh: Well, that is canard which is below contempt. Only that person can say this who doesn't know what kind of respect and regard I hold for Sonia Gandhi. She is the leader. Whatever she decides is acceptable to me.

Karan Thapar: They also say that you brought this issue up because you felt that the Prime Minister had been eating into your portfolio. Part of it had gone to Renuka Chaudhury and, in fact, your new deputy minister Purandar Sridevi had taken over certain parts. This was your way of getting back.

Arjun Singh: No one was taking over any part. This is a decision which the Prime Minister makes as to who has to have what portfolio. And he asked Mrs Renuka Devi to take it and he cleared it with me first.

Karan Thapar: So there is no animus on your part?

Arjun Singh: Absolutely not.

Karan Thapar: They say that you did this because you resented the Prime Minister's popular image in the country, that this was your way of embroiling him in a dispute that will make him look not like a modern reformer but like an old-fashioned, family-hold politician instead.

Arjun Singh: Well, the Tammany Hall political stage is over> He is our Prime Minister and every decision he has taken is in the full consent with his Cabinet and I don't think there can be any blame on him.

Karan Thapar: One, then, last quick question. Do you think this is an issue, which is a sensitive issue, where everyone knew there would have been passions and emotions that would have aroused has been handled as effectively as it should have been?

Arjun Singh: Well, I have not done anything on it. I have not sort of what you call jumped the gun. If this is an issue, which is sensitive, everyone has to treat it that way.

Karan Thapar: But your conscience as HRD Minister is clear?

Arjun Singh: Absolutely clear.

Karan Thapar: There is nothing that you could have done to make it easier for the young students?

Arjun Singh: Well, I am prepared to do anything that can be done. And it is being attempted.

Karan Thapar: For seven weeks, they have been protesting in the hot sun. No minister has gone there to appease them, to alley their concerns, to express sympathy for them. Have politicians let the young people of India down?

Arjun Singh: Well, I myself called them. They all came in this very room.

Karan Thapar: But you are the only one.

Arjun Singh: You are accusing me only. No one else is being accused.

Karan Thapar: What about the Government of India? Has the Government of India failed to respond adequately?

Arjun Singh: From the Government of India also, the Defence Minister met them.

Karan Thapar: Only recently.

Arjun Singh: That is something because everyone was busy with the elections.

Karan Thapar: For seven weeks no one met them.

Arjun Singh: No, but we are very concerned. Certainly, all of us resent the kind of force that was used. I condemned it the very first day it happened.

Karan Thapar: All right, Mr Arjun Singh. We have reached the end of this interview. Thank you very much for speaking on the subject.

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If I had been Karan, I would have given Arjun a couple of left jabs and right upper-cuts. Budda Saala....

what would you have done?

Reserving...

Agreed... This issue of reservations is quite emotional to everyone. And when emotions are at play it is difficult to think rationally. But then, this nonsense has been going on far too long....

Doctors seem to be in the forefront of the agitation... why?

Every year, we the tax payers spend thousands of crores to get these people (doctors and engineers alike) the top class education. And all they give in return is this? staying away from hospitals and emergency medical facilities (leave alone the non-critical functions.. is there one? what is non-critical in medicine? a leg injury?let him suffer? ) in the name of strike and fight for meritocracy?

Is this the only way to fight for justice? these educated medicos?? are they so hopeless in the system that they need to resort to such measure?




That said... I am not pro reservations in the current form.

Ok. you free a man who had been chained for years. You cannot leave him at the start line and expect him to race equally with the others. (somebody said this.. I forget the American) So, how much head-start would be sufficient for him and for how many races?

Have time-bound reservations.

Are you going to give this special head-start to everybody who claims to have been chained? How many of the SCs/STs/OBCs are actually deserving a reservation?

It is a know fact that the 'creamy' layer gets to enjoy most of these benefits, if not all. Weed out this 'creamy' layer. Decide a cut-off income group for each region/state. Anybody having family (parental) income of above 4lacs per annum will not be eligible for these reservations.

"Have time-bound reservations and weed out the creamy layer from these reservations"





And yes.. provide seats to deserving students from the general category whose family income is less than 3lacs per annum.





I quote a dear friend of mine... "The only effective way to reach any solution.. the only way much of human civilizations reached a solution to conflicts is by 'negotiating'"


Bhaskar

Things

Yet another time when ...............

When I got the car, i didnt have much practise driving one. Though I had got the license (not to kill!) way back in 1999, I would have hardly driven some 20kms since. So I had asked my cousin to accompany me and take delivery of the car. But he had some work and needed to be back at his office for an hour. So, after taking the car, we went to his office. While he was at work, i was driving the car around in the vicinity. Being a relatively less-crowded locality, I could get comfortable enough that I drove the car back home. Its like that.. I have been gaining confidence, experience, had my first scratch, first bump from the humps, first autorickshaw-induced shave... still, alive and kicking!

And now some snapshots from the story of my friend...
She was relocating to Malaysia. She had lots of things to handle including her car, a Honda City that she had taken on office lease. Excellent car, just that the terms were quite harsh (on the pocket) if somebody had to foreclose the lease. After trying for quite a bit, she settled to sell it off to a second-hand car dealer at a considerable loss. When I heard that, I told her that I will take the car. That was the time when I was having issues with the Ford making me wait forever. And since it was a great car and I knew that I was willing to pay more than the dealer any day, I told her the same. Then, we found that there was another colleague of ours who was also interested in the car. Finally, that person took one drive on the car and immediately took it (on company lease himself).

so, to complete the blanks yet another time when life does seem to always work out in the end. The going may be tough, would seem that things are difficult and may not work out. But in the end, all's well that ends well. (though I am not sure how much you can feel what I am feeling of the whole stuff... its quite complex. life is!)

Meet My Wife!

Here she is! Aint she gorgeous??!!

Bhaskar

Save Brand India

I dont endorse these views of Venkat & Subodh entirely.. yes, I have changed my views. I say "once we build our credibility, lets start negotiating with the OBCs and dalits and everyone concerned"

Bhaskar

-------------------

Hi Friends,

We are a group of people concerned about the current proposal of the
Government of India to increase reservations to about 50% at IIT/IIM,
NLSU, AIIMS , other central universities and also to introduce
reservations in Private Sector. We belong to varied backgrounds that
include alumni of IIT/IIM, Central Universities, IT professionals and
others but have come together to oppose the current reservation
proposal of the government. Through this mail I would like to
communicate to NLSU students the broad objectives of our group and seek
your support.

Though there have been so many voices against reservation, there is
absolutely NO organized forum to express it and make an impact. Only
recently there have been a few organizations formed– "United Students"
and "Youth for Equality" in Delhi which comprise mainly of the students
in Delhi. They are mobilizing the students and have already organized
about 5 protest marches in Delhi. They are also trying to meet the
President and HRD minister to express their protest. The other is
formed under the banner "Savebrandindia" (website
www.savebrandindia.org ) in Bangalore and I am writing this mail as a
member of this group. This group has so far organized two meetings- one
in Delhi and the other in Bangalore. We are also trying to get in
touch with "United Students" and"Youth for Equality" .

In the short term, we want to prevent the reservation in the Private
Sector, IIT/IIM, NLSU, AIIMS and other central universities. We are
trying to accomplish it by following ways

o Bring about a decent mobilization of people who are opposing
the reservation. We have started an e-group to bring the sympathizers
under one umbrella.

o Once we build a quorum, we want to take up several activities
in the next few weeks. These activities include organizing regular
meetings, panel discussions and organizing peaceful protest marches.
The next few weeks are very important because the current assembly
election is going to end by May 2 nd week and the reservation issue is
going to crop up immediately after that. So we need to be prepared for
that.

o Explore the possibility of going to courts. We are already
onto this and would file a PIL in the supreme court if the reservation
is introduced.

In the long term :

We should realize that reservation problem cannot be solved in a
few weeks. Opposing reservation is considered to be politically
suicidal by all the political parties. We are aware that we are
questioning the unquestionable idea of the day. Hence we want to make
this as a permanent organization, irrespective of whether the current
reservation proposal get implemented or not.
A few things we have realized are:
Many are not aware fully about reservations
Since they are not aware they do not realize how serious the
problem is
Few people who are aware do not know how to go about it.

We want this forum can become an umbrella organization to build
awareness on reservations.

We want to expand this in different cities and create a critical
mass against reservation policy
We should also seriously consider how we can bring pressure
politically. Thought there are several ideas floating around, we have
to give shape to that.


We need all of you to join us and help us to build this organization.
Firstly, I request you to join our yahoo-group,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/save_brand_india/ to facilitate
communication and exchange of information

Through this communication, we solicit your wholehearted support.We
would appreciate any kind of help that you can offer us. We request
you to help us in taking this organization forward.

You contact me, Venkat (9845957881, venkatr74@gmail.com ) or Subodh
(9342104597, subodh.kgp@gmail.com). Subodh is an alumnus of
IIT-Karaghpur and I am alumnus of IIM-Calcutta.

Looking forward to hear from you.

Regards

Venkat

Ado..

Was my cousin's wedding over the weekend. It was great! Cousins' weddings are always so.. but this, more so :) ..like the first of my-gang-of-cousins to get married. Life is gonna be that much more different now.

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Was my first visit to the 'Metro'. IT does look like one of the US shopping malls.. Target/Walmart !! you have some minor formalities like you need to be a merchant/have a VAT a/c or something to get an entry card. But then, thats ok. Two of my people have that card made without actually being one ;)

And any day ( literally, I need to take a day off to check out all they have to offer), the products here are just what you would find all around you, and just a bit more economical.

Now, when are the Walmarts coming??

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Vandalism/Crumbling Infra/Bangaloreons vs Non-Bangaloreons
These seems to be the hot topics on Blog Bang. But one point stands out.. "It seems like everyone is just waiting to extract more money out of you... be it the autowala/house owner/..."

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Dear Ford India,

Thank you for your offer and the product, Ford Fiesta. But, you don’t seem to know much about customer service.

For one, don’t deal with us customers as if we can never be contented and that our wants can never be satisfied. (though it may be quite true, we want everything available for the best price). Have some empathy for us. Listen to us and then you will know what we really want.

And for another, just deliver my car!!!!!!!
regards,
Bhaskar

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Its turning to be a weekend affair.. this post thing. Let me break it by not posting next weekend ;)

Nonchalance and Agony :(

The Times of India (bangi ed.) says 'City Bounces Back'.
I say.. it is plain apathy & nonchalance!

Nobody (except the opposition political parties - only in their own interest - playing the blame game).. just nobody seemed to have staged any sort of protest against the mindless and utterly condemnable violence and arson in the name of mourning for Dr. Rajkumar. Instead, the paper carries justifications and reasons from psychologists about 'why mourners take to violence'.

What has Bangalore come to??? I am ashamed of being a Bangalorean.

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My lappie crashed taking with it all my data/reports/work/mails/documents :(
looks like a hard disk failure.. GOSH!! :( !! :( !!
*SOS*

Bhaskar

Confusions!

Life mae... tere life mae confusion ka kuch kami hain kya? (Is there a dearth of confusions in your life?!)

Here... take this easy one...

Which Car to buy????
Chevy Aveo 1.4 or Ford Fiesta 1.4

Some pointers..

Aveo looks rock... Fiesta is not bad either.
Aveo suspension is great.. Fiesta is just ok.
Aveo has less legroom.. Fiesta is so very comfortable.
Aveo has lesser bootspace than Fiesta.. doubt if two medium suitcases would fit easily on the floor.
Aveo (181cms) has better ground clearance than Fiesta (168cms)
Aveo seems to have greater powerloss with full AC while changing gears than Fiesta (this could be a hindrance in overtaking on highways, wouldnt it?)
Aveo again seems to have a li'l less fuel efficiency than the other..
And I cant really decide on the accessories and spare parts...

Your analysis would be very helpful if it reaches me in the next 24 hrs!

Thanks,
Bhaskar

SOP

At a time of life when people just start living their SOP or Statement of Purpose (Its usually the admission process into an US univ that triggers our common Indian's search into thyself... the essence of his life), I have already achieved my purpose in life!!

yes... I have finished watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S. !!!!

Its been an hour since I finished watching the grand finale... Haaaaaah! Words fail me, guys.... :D


So, here...

To The Best Days of our Lives


So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your job's a joke, you're broke, your lovelife's D.O.A.
It's like you're always stuck in second gear
When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year

But I'll be there for you (when the rain starts to pour)
I'll be there for you (like I've been there before)


Cheers!!
(Hear it is The Rembrandts)



BTW, Thanks to Matter Mahadevan..

ha haa haaa!!!! Here is to the best blonde joke of the millenium!!

http://bardsbabe.blogspot.com/2006/01/it-was-only-matter-of-time.html

Ensoi!
Bhaskar

Duh!

Been a long time.. and then I caught up with quite a few of my friends today. In the middle of all the frenzy, taking some time out and getting in touch feels good! And the best part is.. with these people, it never feels like we were out of touch.. we get back right on from the place we left!

... that includes some fellow bloggers too.. met Sujatha, Surjo & Varun at Barista. Great chatting you guys.

On the same note, I am looking forward to meeting quite a few guys that I graduated with. One of them is in India now on vacation..

Bhaskar

Assortie No. 2

I saw Pride and Prejudice..

who hasnt ?

What do you mean?

Ha! It is so common a virtue these days..!!

Virtue?!?!

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Keira is fabulous.. And PnP is a classic!! ....Well taken.

I guess that was the first novel I read.. Got it as a prize in my 2nd standard.. the abridged version though :)

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What could be comparable to the following...

A sweet-tooth locked up in a bengali sweets shop..
A car enthusiast gifted a Rolls Royce convertible...
A beach lover left rollickin' on the sands of Andamans..
A woman given a 1 million franc gift voucher on the Champs Elysee..

me on house arrest with Friends season 8, 9 & 10.....jsut out of the world!!!! (Thanks Jam :)
----------------------------------------

Watching Fardeen Khan perform at the Femina Miss India 2006 contest on Sony TV now...

My guess is its gonna be another Neha this time!! Lets see...

Assortment No. 1

Did you watch today's (sunday's) Aus vs SA cricket match?? Just AWESOME!!!!! Alas, I could catch only a few glimpses of it... Have you recorded or TiVo'd it?

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Watched a Tamil comedy drama by Y G Mahendran at a Malleswaram Hall.. It was quite a laugh riot.. Had good fun!

Also got to see some of the Tam community (read young ladies ;) living in blore.. In fact, one of them was recently crowned Ms. Chennai it seems. As luck would have it, I saw her just a couple of hours earlier at 18th cross Cafe Coffee Day. Is the universe sending me (and her) some message ?!?! :P ;)

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Hmm... it seems to be that time of the year when almost everybody of my generation in my family is going out of the country!!

Just a month back, my sister went to NJ, USA on work and a cousin sister went to Hamburg, Germany. My cousin joined her hubby there after about 2 - 3 months wait. Yesterday, another cousin's hubby left for the US and that cousin is leaving for Germany next week. Today, yet another cousin's hubby left for Belgium!!

Well.. I started it all with my trip to the US last year :)

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What are your thoughts about speed dating? Did anybody check it in bangalore? There was one scheduled about a month back... just about the time one of my cousins was getting married in chennai and I had made my plans for that already. Otherwise, I probably would have checked that out.

After that, there has been no news on it.. even the website seems to be off now!

No Sex Tonight?

Awesome!! got this joke via email from Vivek Neb.

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One evening last week, my wife and I were getting into bed. Well, the passion starts to heat up, and she eventually says "I don't feel like it, I just want you to hold me."

I said "WHAT????!!! What was that?!" So she says the words that every boyfriend on the planet dreads to hear..."You're just not in touch with my emotional needs as a woman enough for me to satisfy your physical needs as a man."

She responded to my puzzled look by saying, "Can't you just love me for who I am and not what I do for you in the bedroom?"

Realizing that nothing was going to happen that night, I went to sleep.

The very next day I opted to take the day off of work to spend time with her. We went out to a nice lunch and then went shopping at a big, big unnamed department store. I walked around with her while she tried on several different very expensive outfits.

She couldn't decide which one to take so I told her we'll just buy them all.

She wanted new shoes to compliment her new clothes, so I said lets get a pair for each outfit. We went onto the jewellery department where she picked out a pair of diamond earrings.

Let me tell you...she was so excited. She must have thought I was one wave short of a shipwreck. I started to think she was testing me because she asked for a tennis bracelet when she doesn't even know how to play tennis.

I think I threw her for a loop when I said, "That's fine, honey."

She was almost nearing sexual satisfaction from all of the excitement.

Smiling with excited anticipation she finally said, "I think this is all dear, let's go to the cashier." I could hardly contain myself when I blurted out, "No honey, I don't feel like it."

Her face just went completely blank as her jaw dropped with a baffled,

"WHAT???!!!" I then said, "Really honey! I just want you to HOLD this stuff for a while. You're just not in touch with my financial needs as a man enough for me to satisfy your shopping needs as a woman." And just when she had this look like she was going to kill me, I added, "Why can't you just love me for who I am and not for the things I buy you?"

Apparently I'm not having sex tonight either.

Good news.. Great news!!

If good news are to be shared.. Great news ought to be!

First, both the guys from I got the Striker @ Dell award. yeah, my senior from '02 batch is also here and he shared the podium with me :) Of the other guys who were coveted, one is from A, another from B and the rest 3 are non-IIM grads.. two lawyers/associates, another in admin capacity. 2 on 4 and among the pool of IIM MBAs here... Way to go, I!!


Now, coming to the scintillating piece...

8 International Placements
4 additional international postings
Macquarie Bank, OLAM International Ltd., Astro Malaysia, and Irevna

Vital Stats

Rs. 8.5 lakhs average salary
Rs. 32 lakhs highest salary
295 offers to 113 students ie. 2.6 offers per person


That is I's placement record this year!!!!!



I ROCKS yet again!!!!!!

read the link for the full report.


Seems we have already moved into the big league.. no more the comfort of being underdogs.

Wherever we go, whatever level we reach, whatever level the others reach - guess we will still stand tall. And 'we' shall cherish 'I' !!!

Bhaskar

Striker @

Monday we had our all-hands at Le Meredien.. it is a li'l more than a year since our Analytics group started. It was the time for another quarterly review of our performance as a group and also to clarify and focus our energies in the coming quarters. (We live by quarters, you see :)

Its been a wonderful journey.. Growing from a team of 5 people to 65... from one business domain to 5-6 business domains... from 3 cubicles to almost one-fourth of the floor... But what had not changed (till now... should i touch wood?!) is the excellent leadership and the sheer high expectations they have on us.

As I had said earlier, the omnipresent energy and enthusiasm of our worldwide VP... just amazing!!

Anyways... at the end of it, was the time to recognize people for their performance last quarter. And lo! I got this Striker @ Dell award for my 'outstanding functional excellence'!!



And today, the 7th, I complete one year of post-MBA work-ex! It definitely feels nice....

Bhaskar

Yada Yada Yudharmasya..

Have been one crazily hectic week at work, what with my colleague on a long vacation, one US counterpart on a short vacation and another ready to go on her maternity leave! Cutting down on all my food and stretch breaks and yet staying up until 5am on all the days and back at work by 2pm. On top of that, some people think that managers/MBAs dont do any work... And my manager says 'Ha! Good stuff man.. you are finally doing some work ?!' @%#$%#$^&*!!!

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Its party time.. I have another set of mock-interviews lined up at CF tomorrow!!

Ha Ha! I can never get enough of them..!! [grinding the palms..] [Obelix on hearing that a Roman battalion is camping nearby!!!]

Bhaskar !